Greece and Bulgaria, 1949-1964: The Unspoken Assumptions

Abstract

The history of Greek-Bulgarian relations in the first post-war period is
very complicated. It is in a combination of factors that one should seek to
trace the perceptions of statesmen in Athens and in Sofia. Apart from differences
of their political economic and social systems, additional factors
divided the two countries. Since 1870, there was an uninterrupted legacy of
conflict between Greece and Bulgaria. This made the Greeks reluctant to believe
that the Bulgarians would abandon their traditional policy of pursuing
territorial revision. The break up of the Korean war in 1950 seemed to confirm
these fears. Greek armed forces, furthermore, were far weaker than the Bulgarian
ones, something which did not allow the Greek governments to take
a confident attitude towards Sofia. Finally, the Cyprus question permitted
the Soviet bloc (of which the major representative in the Balkans was Bulgaria)
to exert all kinds of pressure to Athens. It was only after the 1962 Cuban
missile crisis that both Greeks and Bulgarians felt confident to make a fresh
start. In 1964, they proceeded to a full normalisation of relations, which became
one of the most precious stąbilising elements in the region.